I kinda liked the way Johnofphilly described Europe in another thread as being on the other side of the pond from him... So I thought it might be cool to create a new thread to introduce for Americans (North and South) the car models we have over here in Europe.

Obviously they are all very different from what you get there: many different carmakers, original local models of common carmakers, different driving habits, different choices for cars...

For instance, Europeans are very fond of single-body vehicles (which we call "monospaces" here) and even the family cars are rarely of the sedan type, but rather the hatchback kind, which is favored over here. Stationwagons are not as popular here as they were 40 years ago, but we still have some fine models. Convertibles have become increasingly popular again after a thre-decade hiatus, and the trend is towards the "CC" kind (coupe-cabriolet, which means a hardtop that folds back in the rear of the car).

European cars in general are smaller than American cars, due to the size of our streets and cities, and also the smaller distances. However they are conceived to be a little faster. Speed limits are usually in the 110-140 kms per hour range all across Europe, except in Germany where no speed limit is fixed. If you have a fast car and drive the fast lane, you can go as fast as 240 k.p.h.

Japanese cars have captured a major part of the market over the past 15 years, but to achieve that, they had to set up specific factories in Europe (when we only had imports, there were great limitations as to the total of cars imported every year) and develop specific models for our continent. We get mainly Nissan (part of Renault-Nissan) and Toyota cars, but Mazda, Honda and others also have their small share of the market.

Major manufacturers in Europe are Mercedes (Germany), Renault (France), Opel (Vauxhall in the UK) which is the European branch of GM, Ford (which builds its cars mostly in the UK and Germany), Peugeot/Citroën (France), Fiat/Lancia/Alfa Romeo (Italy), Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche (Germany) and its Spanish subsidiary Seat. There are many, many more smaller or import manufacturers, but these represent the bulk of our cars. There is also a newcomer called Smart, which was started early in the 1990s as a joint venture of watch-maker Swatch and Mercedes, to market the smallest fuel-powered car on the market, the Smart, which has become increasingly popular.

In this thread, I would love for all the Europeans on this forum to post pictures of cars they particularly like and maybe give a few details about them. Concept cars are also welcome, of course...

One exception, a car I saw today in Montpellier
(This historic town is blocked to most traffic and very difficult to navigate the narrow streets)
A Ford Crown Victoria...
Tony

The Renault Clio, in its three successive incarnations, has been one of the most popular cars on the continents. Introduced in the late 1980s, it has evolved but remains a reliable, no-frills compact car with either four doors and a hatch (what we Europeans call a 5-door car) or two doors and a hatch (what we call a 3-door car).

The Mark III model was introduced in 2006. Interestingly, the Clio is also successful import on the Japanese market, under the name Renault Lutecia. As for the East European market, a specific 4-door sedan was offered since the Mark II version under the name Thalia or Symbol. There is even a specific taxi version for the Colombian market as the Citius... Almost forgot: The Thalia is now marketed as the Nissan Platina in some parts of Latin America!

Finally, some specific Renault Sport versions with V6 engines have been developed, some only for the UK market. Awesome little cars...

Left to right, top to bottom: Clio III, Clio II (in Japanese guise), Thalia, Clio V6 and Colombian Citius (similar to Thalia).

Originally Posted by borme

One exception, a car I saw today in Montpellier
(This historic town is blocked to most traffic and very difficult to navigate the narrow streets)
A Ford Crown Victoria...
Tony

Unbelievable! I don't even think the Crown Victoria was evermarketed in Europe, let alone France! Are you quite sure this was for real? The empty street and foreign car type make me think of some shooting for a movie...

http://newspolice.free.fr/vehicules_pm_mont.htm
The police Dep't did buy some, the first time I have seen this car in Europe, only 250 horsepower they normally have a five litre V8 engine?
Tony

Originally Posted by borme

http://newspolice.free.fr/vehicules_pm_mont.htm
The police Dep't did buy some, the first time I have seen this car in Europe, only 250 horsepower they normally have a five litre V8 engine?
Tony

Tony, you are getting this thread off topic, slowly but surely, but never mind... I'm learning stuff here, so it's cool. As confirmed by your link, the cars were imported STRAIGHT from the U.S.!

Here's a quick translation:

Brand new vehicles imported straight from the United States for a French city police. 250hp under the bonnet [UK term is hood]...

Police ramp and American siren. Comfortable and fully-equipped interior. Fabric-covered front seats. Rear seat in fake leather for easier clean-up after transporting homeless or wounded people, etc.[don't know what IPM stands for].

We prefer to stay discreet as to the price of these! [talk about accounting for public expense when European-built cars could have done the trick!]

This city has already innovated by investing in top notch vehicles before: its mounted brigade is equipped with BMW motorbikes. [now you get the answer to my previous question: it's for the show, and nothing else!]

And this from a supposedly official website. This is disgusting! But thanks Tony, because it's very interesting and certainly unique in France. I look forward to visiting Montpellier to take a snapshot of these oddballs...

[ARIES3032]

many of drive cars from Europe already. My favorite is the Alfa Romeo from Italy.

Lee, I can understand why Alfas appeal to you. They are elegant and well-balanced cars. Unfortunately, the latest range of models is kind of disappointing, as the following picture demonstrates. The company (which is now a division of Fiat) offers mostly compact cars which, although stylish and reliable, are nowhere near as daring as the models from the past...

[S V PELUZIO JR]

Nice thread, Steph.
Here in South our cars are smaller than American´s too and they are almost the same Europeans models (Renault, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroën and etc).

I hope to see many other posts.

[ARIES3032]

the Alfa Romea --Spider. So sorry they have made the car larger !

[George M]

Well, friends, some of my favorites from Europe include the Vauxhall Viva, Ford Cortina, Opel Manta and Citroen 2CV.

Also, the original Ford Fiesta from the late seventies, which saved Ford in Europe.

[Taylor]

The Police around here are driving brand new Mustangs, and the State Troopers are driving new Dodge Chargers (V8 Hemi).

Definitely a step up from the Crown Vic's of the past.

Yes you don't really need them except you can pack more crims. at a time in the back
2 popular models here.. the Peugeot 307 this one is the cabriolet, with a metal roof which folds into the boot:trunk no good for us, 2 doors small trunk
The other is the Peugeot 407 Coupé, the 4 door sedan is the larger seller, this is at the top end size wise in France
Tony

[ARIES3032]

our Sheriff's department uses a Toyota hy-byrid. My daughter drove one until her strokes.

That would be the Prius, right? This is becoming increasingly popular here too... But scary when it drives past in electric mode because you almost can't hear it!

[Maureen]

I dont know anything about cars only how to drive them but we saw this State Troopers car while we were on our travels

[Roy]

Cool cruiser, Maureen. That's a 1956 Ford Fairlane.

Hey, what does everyone think about SMART cars? Reliability, etc. We start getting them in the US next year.

[Taylor]

< Hey, what does everyone think about SMART cars? >

It's a coffin on wheels.

SMART cars Roy? They are like little bumper cars....my neice had one, she didn't keep it for long..

Originally Posted by Taylor

< Hey, what does everyone think about SMART cars? >

It's a coffin on wheels.

Ah, c'mon, Taylor, don't believe the rumors! SMART cars had some very early trouble tied to their losing balance in curves, but that was addressed from the start and they've been reliable ever since! They are all over the place here and have come mainly in three types, although it seems only the classic model (now called the "Fortwo") is still for sale.


They are the easiest cars to park because of their size, and they offer a choice between several colors for a two-tone effect and numerous features than can be personalized because of their extreme modularity. They are definitely city cars to get easily from place A to place B. Not much good for shopping since the trunk is ridiculously small, not very appropriate for long holidays (same reason + they are not highly performing cars at fast speeds) but they are fun cars.

SMARTs may seem like toylike, midget cars, have to remember the market is very different from Europe. In the US, any teenager past the age of 16 can own and drive just about any type of car; in Europe, you can learn from 16 with your parents but you can only go solo at age 18; it is very rare to purchase a car at that age, and most people will go for small cars and/or second hand cars until they can afford a bigger one. SMARTs are popular with young people, but also women and people who need a second car for just going to work).


Aren't they cuties?

Small or medium sized cars are the norm here, but they are not popular in North America. I can still remember a friend who had migrated to the Toronto area and resented the fact that he could only afford a Mazda 323 hatchback, which was considered the poor man's car. The Honda Jazz and Ford Festivas have never been hot sellers either, if I'm not mistaken. Only the Renault 5 enjoyed a very moderate success for a year or two. The Dodge Omni (Chrysler Horizon) was the smallest successful car that I know of in North America, from my limited experience and knowledge.

So I really wonder what SMART (a joint venture between Swiss watch maker Swatch and Mercedes) are up to trying to sell their cars in the US... What is for sure, is you either love'em or hate'em. They will leave no-one indifferent...

[if you want to know about the SMART all over the world, US included, click here]